By Ron Smith
November 14, 2022

(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) The NAIA has announced the first and second round brackets for the NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship and #15 Westmont will find itself in familiar company.
 
The Warriors will be flying to Florida for the Lakeland Bracket at Southeastern University. In the first round, Westmont will take on #22 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (7-4-4). The Blue Raiders and Warriors have a significant history.
 
The two teams first met in 2001 in the semifinals of the national tournament which Westmont won 2-1 in the second overtime on a header by Janel Kaden. The Warriors went on two win their third national championship that year, defeating Oklahoma City in the finals 1-0.
 
In 2003, the two teams played twice. In September, Westmont traveled to Rome, Georgia to play Lindsey Wilson in a tournament at Berry. Westmont won the game 2-1 on a pair of by Karin Sullivan.
 
Later that year, the Blue Raiders and Warriors met in the NAIA Championship Game held at La Playa Stadium in Santa Barbara. In the seventh overtime period (158th minute), with the score tied at one, Jessica Schoepke scored the winning goal for the Warriors, giving Westmont its fifth national title.
 
The two teams met again in the national tournament play in 2004, this time in the second round. First the first time, Lindsey Wilson defeated Westmont (1-0) and would go on to win the national championship for the first time in its history.
 
In 2005, the two teams were paired up in the second round of the national championship, which was played in Olathe, Kansas. Westmont prevailed 2-0 on two goals by Amy Lawson.
 
The two teams did not meet again until 2014 when the Warriors traveled to Columbus, Kentucky to take on the Blue Raiders on their home field. Westmont won the game 2-0 on goals by Christine Adams and Grace Lemley.
 
The final two games between the squads came in 2015. In October, the Blue Raiders came to Thorrington Field but left with a 3-0 loss courtesy of goals by Kelsey Steck, Alanna Richards and Hailey Parker. Then in December, Westmont and Lindsey Wilson played in the national tournament quarterfinals with the Blue Raiders prevailing 4-2.
 
This year's Blue Raider team tied for second in the Mid-South Conference standings with a record of 7-1-2. Lindsey Wilson entered the Mid-South Conference Tournament as the number three seed but was upset in the quarterfinals by Thomas More (Ky.) (12-6-2) by a score of 3-1.
 
Lindsey Wilson is led by head coach Drew Burwash who is in his 20th season. He enters the tournament with a record of 340-69-31.
 
The Blue Raiders have outscored their opponents 33-28 this season. Senior forward Rayssa De Souza leads the Blue Raiders with 10 goals this season and has also tallied four assists. Senior midfielder Alicia Thoresen has contributed nine goals and three assists.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Maya Caon has a goals-against average of 1.92 with 87 saves this year.
 
Westmont, which is second seeded, and Lindsey Wilson, the third seed, have not played any common opponents this year.
 
The other side of the four-team bracket features the top-seeded host, Southeastern and the number four seed, Georgia Gwinnett.
 
Ranked ninth in the NAIA, the Fire have a record of 13-3-2, finishing second in the Sun Conference to Keiser (Fla.), then NAIA's top-ranked team. The Fire lost to Keiser in the Sun Conference Tournament Championship Game by a score of 1-0.
 
Westmont and Southeastern have never played. Last year, Southeastern came to Westmont for the Opening Round as the number one seed. However, they lost to Marymount 3-0 in the first round, preventing a Warrior-Fire match-up.
 
The Fire and Warriors have had no common opponents this year. However, Southeastern did take on Georgia Gwinnett, prevailing by a score of 2-0. Lindsey Wilson and Georgia Gwinnett also played each other this year, ending in a 2-2 tie.
 
Southeastern is coached by Caleb Roberts (28-7-2) who is in his second season.
 
Southeastern has outscored its opponents 51-16 this season. The team is led in scoring by senior midfielder Naira Lopez with 10 goals. She also has five assists. Freshman midfielder Ariadna Lozano, sophomore defender Ramsey Watkins and junior forward Mason Schilling have each contributed five.
 
Holly Eddins, a graduate student, has minded the net for the Fire and has posted a goals-against average of 0.95 while tallying 65 saves.
 
Georgia Gwinnett is coach by former Westmont head coach Mike Giuliano who won four national championships with the Warriors (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003).
 
Gwinnett comes into the tournament with a record of 5-7-7. The Grizzlies earned their way into the NAIA National Championship as runner-up in the Continental Athletic Conference Tournament, which consists of 15 institutions not affiliated with a conference.
 
The Grizzlies have been outscored by their opponents by just one goal (25-24) this season. Junior forward Kyara Armenta leads Gwinnett with six goals on the season and has one assist. Junior forward Victoria Watson and junior midfielder Maria Rivera each have three goals.
 
The goalkeeping duties have been shared by sophomore Matilda Johansson and junior Matilda Waldt. Both Matildas are from Sweden, both have played in every game and their total minutes played are within 20 of each other. Johansson has a goals-against average of 1.54 with 50 saves while Waldt's goals-against average is 1.05 with 28 saves.
 
Kick-off for Westmont's game with Lindsey Wilson on Thursday has been set for 12:30 p.m. EST / 9:30 p.m. PST. The final on Saturday is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. EST / 3:00 p.m. PST. A pay-per-view video is available for $7.99 per game at https://team1sports.com/southeasternfire/.